Joshua 3:6

6 And Joshua said to the priests, 1"Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

Joshua 3:6 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 3:6

And Joshua spoke unto the priests
On the morrow, that is, on the tenth day of the month, the day on which they went over Jordan:

saying, take up the ark of the covenant;
in which the law was put, which was the covenant between God and the people, from whence the ark had this name; and in which it was typical of Christ, in whom both the law, the covenant of works, was fulfilled, and with whom the covenant of grace was made; who is the Mediator; surety, and messenger of it, and in whom all the blessings and promises of it are, and with whom it is, and will be kept for evermore: the ark, the priests were ordered to take up and bear on their shoulders; for no other way might they carry it; these typified the ministers of Christ who bear his name, his Gospel in the world, see ( Acts 9:15 ) ;

and pass over before the people;
over the river Jordan, to direct them in the way through it, and encourage them to follow them:

and they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people;
from the place where they had lodged the night before to the brink of the river.

Joshua 3:6 In-Context

4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."
5 Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."
6 And Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"

Cross References 1

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.